Ultimately, if Hands was Little Boots' booty-shaking call to the dancefloor, then Nocturnes is the afterglow, post-party soundtrack for the ride home.

Strapped isn't a bad album so much as a strangely scattered one, revealing the Soft Pack caught between delivering what they're known for and what they might like to become.

Even without 'Neon Jesus'--the single that garnered Crocodiles quite a bit of web attention just before this release--Summer of Hate stands strong as a tremendous debut: one that pays heavy tribute to its influences while never seeming overly derivative.

Underwood is taking risks for the first time. Nearly all of them pay off. ... The result is an album as satisfying as it is surprising.

Throughout Hush he proves adept at constructing interesting soundscapes built on guitar tones and dynamics and not just sheer volume and distortion.

It's an invigorating, infectious set that reaffirms Turner's faith in music's power to motivate and heal.

An impressive first full-length from an artist equally adept at intricate productions and affecting songwriting, Without Your Love brings all of Greenspan's talents together in a satisfying whole.

Eleventh Hour is certainly not a disappointment: Del's as good of a rapper as ever, and the way he fits his words into the beats, playing with his and their cadence, is truly spectacular, but he needs to challenge himself--and his listeners--more, lyrically and beat-wise, instead of relying on the same tried-and-true methods, if he really wants to continue his legacy.

Overall Ladd has made a divine album indeed.

This is the sound of seasoned veterans still finding new ways to play old favorites.

Most of the time, however, the band's blazing energy and instrumental swagger is able to lift your spirits despite the depressing subject matter.

Bring Ya to the Brink is one of the more intriguing detours along the way.

An easy recommendation for fan club members and/or serial killers. Everyone else has two or three better Cooper concepts to devour first.

Surprising as it may be, coming from masters of the quick-cut DJ collage, The Search Engine is a journey worth taking from beginning to end, uninterrupted.

Herve Vincenti and Philippe Petit's collective group retains its neo-no wave/industrial clatter on From Beyond Love, again recruiting a variety of guest vocalists track for track to extend the feeling of a decentralized, ever-shifting effort.

Yeah, there are electric guitars everywhere, and this is a nice-sounding band, but, given the caliber of the talent, it would seem the songs should be better instead of just bounce-offs for guitar pyrotechnics.

The album feel as though it's fighting with itself, ultimately leaving the record feeling more conflicted than confrontational.

Jones has forged multiple careers by fusing disparate yet compatible musical styles together to make wholly new yet comfortably recognizable pop music. Ultimately, that's exactly what Kitty, Daisy & Lewis have done here.

With the fountain of material springing out of Newcombe's Berlin studio in the first part of the 2010s, the quality level has been rather hit or miss, but Something Else is a solid effort and somewhat of a return to form for the veteran band.

Overall, Dwell is a stirring album best enjoyed at home during the middle of winter, when the weather renders venturing outdoors a fool's task.

Unlike his previous albums, the play times on Dead Hand Control vary widely, with tracks sometimes transitioning into one another. It ultimately has the effect of a night out at the club or, more precisely, a series of 12" extended dance mixes à la the 1980s that are cued up among radio cuts.

While the title track is ostensibly a song about a couple falling in love, the track, as with much of Good Together, could just as easily work as a love letter penned by the members of Lake Street Dive to each other.

Noel's High Flying Birds is tasteful, mannered craftsmanship.

This is the most comfortable Alpers has sounded making music, and the result is some of her best work yet.

It's the songs rather than the production that will keep repeat listeners coming back, even if they don't notice at first, or 20th, or 50th, and the marriage of the two works so well that folks are likely not to care why.

An ambitious work by an artist intent on developing her total sound, Halcyon finds Goulding poised at the edge of artistic and career possibilities.

Street of the Love of Days is a well-conceived, perfectly executed album that captivates you right from the beginning and doesn't let go until well after the album stops spinning.

Freeze, Melt is a daring move for the band; they aren't exactly turning their backs on the huge, happy sound that earned them their glittering place in the dance rock firmament, but they do bring their sound down to earth in admirable, emotionally affecting fashion. In the process, they prove that they don't need to make music that's great to dance to in order to make music that's great.